911 dispatcher needs 911 herself, is saved by colleague

Published 12:00 am, Thursday, February 7, 2013

LOWELL, Mass. -- When veteran 911 dispatcher Tara Sheehan needed urgent medical assistance, she didn't have to make a phone call. There was a friend nearby who knew how to help.

Sheehan suffered a coughing fit while eating a piece of steak for lunch and ran from her station in the dispatch center on Friday about 12:30 p.m.

She couldn't breathe.

Sheehan said she ran into a kitchenette area just outside the dispatch center.

"I tried myself to get the piece of food from my throat, and I started to panic at the same time knowing there was no way I was going to be able to make it back into the room to get help," Sheehan said.

A short time later, fellow dispatcher Lori Neville emerged from the dispatch center and asked if Sheehan was choking.

Neville said she knew her friend was in trouble and was just waiting for Sheehan to signal that she truly needed help.

"I remember turning to her making eye contact with her and thinking to myself, 'thank you Lori, I'm going to die if you don't help me here,' " Sheehan said. "I remember hitting and banging at my chest and pointing to my throat."

Neville used the Heimlich maneuver, needing five "Heimlich thrusts" to dislodge the food from Sheehan's throat.

"The feeling of breathing again was indescribable," Sheehan said. "How do you thank someone who just saved your life? My family and I will be forever grateful to Lori."

Neville, who previously worked as an EMT for Trinity Ambulance for about six years, and who also gets medical training as a dispatcher, said she was confident she knew what to do even though she had never performed the Heimlich maneuver on a living person. Dummies are used during EMT training.

Chuck Ouellette, who oversees dispatchers as the department's director of administrative services, said he walked into the kitchenette just as Neville was applying the Heimlich maneuver.

He said fear was clearly visible on Sheehan's face.

Ouellette said once she could breathe again, Sheehan ended up not needing further medical attention. She finished her shift.

He said all dispatchers have training in how to provide medical assistance over the telephone.

"Doing it hands on is a little bit different sometimes," Ouellette said. "But she (Neville) sprung into action and knew exactly what to do."

Sheehan said she is still trying to figure out how to truly say thanks.

"We've been friends and co-workers for 16 years. She saved my life and sent me home to my three beautiful daughters and family," Sheehan said. "How do I repay someone for that?"

Neville said little thanks are needed.

"Friends are there for each other," Neville said. "That's what friendship is about."